911 tapes released from day Eli Marcum's body was found

MANCHESTER, Ky (WYMT/WKYT) - After searching for almost one week, the family of Eli Marcum found a burned body in the Crawfish Community of Clay County.

On Thursday, Mountain News obtained a copy of the 911 tapes.

From the moment they called 911, the family feared the worst.

"We have found a body up here, and we think it's Eli Marcum," the caller told dispatchers.

The caller also told dispatchers that they had been looking for him since Sunday.

He told dispatchers, "We believe we found him. His daughter thinks it's him, but it's a body no joke. It's burnt to a crisp."

Marcum's daughter got on the phone a few minutes into the call and told dispatchers, "I even went over on the other side of the mountain, cause where the road was, looking for him. Then I decided I was going to come up this way to look to see if I could find anything, just to get me closure to find my daddy."

And what she found that Saturday, she believed to be the charred remains of her father. The coroner would later confirm those fears.

Police are still investigating the murder and have not made any arrests.

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